In his equally fascinating and poignant memoir, Russ Roberts reveals how his steadfast love of airplanes guides him through a turbulent childhood and empowers him to chart his own course.

"A thoughtful and detailed remembrance of a life in flight. In Roberts’ vivid telling of his life story, he was always a pilot at heart."—Kirkus Reviews

He will make you feel the awe of sitting in the cockpit, the wonder of taking flight, and the unbridled joy of achieving goals. Despite his disqualifying impairment and "the family burning flames of alcohol," he will be an airline pilot. Nothing matters more. As he grows up, the author immerses himself in the world of pilots, hangars, and cockpits.

He soaks up gems of aviation wisdom his father and other pilots impart, earning his pilot’s license before he can drive on the road and, at seventeen, becoming the youngest licensed flight instructor in the U.S. Later, his story flies you from the skies of Alaska to America's East Coast, and on to Greenland, Iceland, and Europe, The big dream, the dream of becoming an airline pilot, though, remains elusive.

This story is more than an airplane tale. It's about growing up in a family wracked with religious difficulties, drinking, and financial woes. All comes to a head on a stressful cross-Atlantic flight in a single-engine airplane with a broken compass and iced-over wings, Roberts realizes that further growth—both personal and in his career- requires pushing aside beliefs he learned in his formative years.

He must think for himself, take risks, and form his own ideas. In life and in the air, he must unlearn... to fly.